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The cover boy for the NHL 13 video game is hanging around Ottawa, hoping a deal between locked-out NHL players and the NHL gets worked out soon.

But Claude Giroux is growing increasingly frustrated and is starting to weigh options to play in Europe.

“I’m getting a little bored here just working out,” said the 24-year-old Giroux, who has risen to elite status as a winger with the Philadelphia Flyers. “I kind of want to play games ... get that rush of playing in hockey games.

“I want to make sure I’m in good shape, so I think it’s a good option for me to go and play somewhere. I’m talking to my agent to see where I could go. I want to play some good, quality hockey.”

He’s worked hard in the off-season and wants to maintain the momentum from last season when he had 28 goals and 65 assists, a huge breakthrough campaign for him.

“When the season does come back, the players who are playing in the high leagues will be in game shape and ready to go,” Giroux said. “If some guys do stay here and don’t play games, it’s going to be hard to have that game shape back.”

Giroux, who starred with the Gatineau Olympiques and grew up in Orléans, has been spending time with family and friends, while working out with a large group of players at the Bell Sensplex and Kanata Recreation Complex the past couple of weeks.

“The summer’s getting a little too long right now,” he said. “My job is to play hockey. Right now, it’s too bad we don’t have the best league in the world to play in. All the guys are frustrated. The league was going uphill (and) to see that go down, it’s frustrating.

“We really like our team in Philly. Everyday going to the rink was fun. I miss that right now.”

Through all of the frustration of watching a stalled negotiation process between the NHL and NHLPA, Giroux is skeptical of the NHL’s intent.

“It looks like it doesn’t matter to them if the season comes back or not,” he said. “That’s the most frustrating thing right now. We want to play. I’m sure the owners want to play, too, but it just doesn’t look like that.”